Our sushi turned heads when the waitress at Sake Bomb in Cicero brought it to the table. An orange flame leapt from the center of the plate, licking at the edges of the volcano roll. Our dining companion's order commanded attention too, with a piece of raw fish sitting atop a martini glass that had a multi-colored flashing light inside.

The show continued during our hibachi dinner with spinning eggs and long-distance squirts of sake, but Sake Bomb isn't a case of style over substance.

While it doesn't break any new ground so far as area Japanese restaurants go, we had a good, fun meal that was a treat for adults and kids alike, punctuated by fresh and creative sushi.

Open since the fall, Sake Bomb was surprisingly busy when we visited on a recent Tuesday night. There were several people at the sushi bar and tables up front, and about a half-dozen parties in the back at hibachi tables, where chefs cook meat, vegetables, fried rice and more on hot tabletop grills.

Dining at hibachi tables can be awkward because you're sitting with strangers, but we were joined by another party of four who were so friendly we all wound up sharing our sushi and dessert orders. The drawback was they arrived about 10 minutes after us, and we had to wait until they placed their orders for any of our food to come out. We set foot inside the restaurant right around 6; we didn't dig in until 6:45.

We went with the volcano ($13) since it offered more variety, and we found the presentation wasn't the only way it lived up to its name. The toppings were a fiery explosion of flavors, offset by the tamer ingredients tucked inside the sesame soy paper. Our 5-year-old tried the toppings and her eyes instantly grew wide as she reached for her water. "It's yummy, just very spicy," she said.

The other party at our table got a California roll and offered us some. Much more mellow, it was a standard blend of crab, cucumber and avocado, crisp and cool.

Our hibachi meals came with the soup and salad that are omnipresent at Americanized Japanese restaurants: a clear, chicken broth-based soup with a handful of scallions floating in it, and lettuce, cucumbers and tomato dressed with tangy ginger dressing. Both were fine, although the soup could have used a lift from a little salt or other seasoning.

The kids were excited as our chef made his way to the table, but minutes later, both were cowering in the wake of a huge flame he created by lighting a streak of oil on the table. I've seen this play out at hibachi restaurants many times before, and sometimes the chef laughs it off and needles the kids. Ours did just the opposite, toning down the show until the girls' nerves were settled, a gesture we really appreciated.

Soon, they were laughing with delight as the chef spun an egg on his spatula, then flipped it into the air, into his shirt pocket and finally into his hat. He shaped the fried rice into a heart and slid his spatula underneath, using it to lift a pocket of the rice so it looked like a beating heart. He had a squirt bottle of sake and asked who wanted some; when two of our dining companions volunteered, he leaned in close to squeeze it in their mouths, then backed up, keeping the stream going from a foot and a half away.

In the midst of the fanfare, the chef heaped our food on our plates. There was sizzling fried rice and tasty noodles that had picked up bit of a char from the grill. A pile of vegetables was doused with just the right amount of soy sauce, and two pieces of shrimp were simple and juicy.

One of our entrees was a shrimp and filet combo ($25), with the meat tender and flavorful. The other dish was chicken ($16), the night's only stumbling block. The chicken had a strange texture -- it took some effort to bite through it. We barely made a dent in the mound on the plate.

Sake Bomb offers hibachi meals for kids, but we opted to order udon noodles with shrimp ($10) for the girls to share. They get a kick out of the long, fat udon noodles and made quick work of the shrimp.

Sake Bomb offers about a dozen beers, a mixture of imported and domestic, as well as six red wines and six white wines. They're chiefly from California, but a few other countries are represented. Japanese plum wine is available for $6 per glass or $22 per bottle.

As we were leaving, a party of two was just beginning their meal on the other side of our table. They were laughing as the chef lobbed vegetables into their mouths, another show shifting into gear.

THE DETAILSThe restaurant: Sake Bomb, 8081 Brewerton Road, CiceroCredit cards: YesAccessible to the disabled: YesHours: Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 10 p.m.The cost: Dinner for two adults and two children with a sushi appetizer, dessert, tax and a 20 percent tip was $97.54.

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